A few weeks ago I was asked to write about my “outsider views” about Clovis, New Mexico.  I didn’t know what to write at first. I mean Clovis is Clovis, at least that is what I thought  when we first arrived.  To those who live here and call Clovis home it is so much more to them than “just Clovis.”   As I gradually meet more and more “locals”  they share the “Clovis” they know as their home with me and I am beginning to feel and experience some of the reasons they call ”Clovis” home.

Lets start at the beginning, I relocated from what one would call ‘Paradise’ aka Florida. I mean living just minutes from the beach, having ‘almost’ perfect weather, oh and did I mention the beach?!

I moved here with my boyfriend who is among those newly transplanted military personnel to Canon Air Force Base.  I LOVE to travel, I had never been to New Mexico, so I saw this as an opportunity  to explore a new area and a new culture. I never once in my life ever thought I would ever live in New Mexico, but I can proudly say I can cross that off the list!   I do at times, wish that I was back in Florida, stuck in traffic with all the tourists, versus the smell of the “dairy air”  out here but if you give this place time just like the locals that smell starts to become home.

As you enter Clovis head down Prince street , you will soon see there are places to go.  No not  a hundred plus stores, but there is at least a Mall,  Clovis may not have a Target, but they do have a Wal-mart and Home Depot! Oh the local smoothie shop makes me feel like paradise came to me!! Locals tell me to look at it like a glass half full, not like a glass half empty!  The glass just isn’t full yet! Commercializing  of Clovis has not happened still lots of locally owned and operated businesses and a short drive to get about anywhere. If you need something offered in the big city. Go. It’s a short drive and you will welcome coming home to Clovis. And the weather is always changing just wait a day or two and it will change. My favorite are the picture perfect clouds. They skies in New Mexico are not like anywhere else that I have visited yet! If you follow my photography (http://boldkreativephotography.com) you will know that I have a fascination with clouds, and love when I have lots of them in the pictures during a session! Another awesome weather feature out here is the lightning. The lightning storms are nature’s picture in the sky that will have you wanting more!

Did you know Clovis has a zoo? Yes, and it only cost you $3.00  what a deal and nice size too. What a hidden treasure to find a zoo.    I wrote a blog post about my experience with pictures here: http://blog.boldkreativephotography.com/?p=428

Within the first week here, we were fortunate enough to hit up our FIRST rodeo!  It was a blast!!  I had never experienced a rodeo:  new cultural experience my mom would say! I remember I was overly impressed with how genuinely nice people were and friendly too!   That was an eye opener to me about this town that we had just moved to!

I am a professional photographer, so naturally I am always out looking for new, creative locations to shoot for my sessions, so I spent a lot of my time the first couple of months just exploring the area.  Ned Houk park on the far side of Clovis (Continue Prince street all the way out-of-town it is on the right a few miles out) is this HUGE outdoor park, that has more playgrounds for children than I have ever seen in one park.  And if you are lucky you might be able to catch a Buffalo roaming around in the wild. Since my photography work is done on location, who would have thought I would trade the beach for cornfields and sunflower fields!   Even walking around main street in town is an adventure, those shops up and down that street are so fun to just walk in and look around.   One place I have on my list to check out is the Norman Petty museum!  I find it fascinating this small of a town has had multiple celebrities either grow up here or start their career here.

This past August I had an opportunity to have a booth for my photography at the Clovis Fair.  I knew this would be a good chance for me to get my name out there, let people know what I can offer, and my style of shooting.  I didn’t realize it would be a way for me to get to know more about Clovis and make some good lasting connections with people in the community. The support the community has for the fair was amazing,  the activities they had for the children like the boot race or the horse race loved it. Like documented in this blog post: http://blog.boldkreativephotography.com/?p=817

So my advice from one outsider to another outsider: Get out there, give it a chance, explore and let the locals welcome you in.

If you are interested, subscribe to my blog for possible other adventures that I may explore around the area. http://blog.boldkreativephotography.com

It’s been a while since we’ve gotten out into the community to do something fun lately so at our last tweetup I asked Scott if he had heard about anything cool happening soon.

He mentioned that the local zoo usually has some Christmas festivities to draw in a crowd, so I drove by Hillcrest Zoo and asked about any upcoming happenings:

Christmas Nites at the Zoo
Hillcrest Park Zoo
1201 Sycamore Clovis, NM
December 15-19 Tuesday – Saturday
5:00 pm to 8:00 PM

I should also note that there is FREE ADMISSION, and if you choose to you can take a picture with Santa Claus for $5. There will be music and refreshments, so this should make for a great time with the family!

The Hillcrest Zoo is 22.5 acre complex, making it the second largest zoo in New Mexico. Normal hours of admittance are from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM and are closed on Mondays and major holidays. Under normal circumstances, admittance fees are free for ages 2 and under, $1.50 for ages 3 to 11 and $3.00 for ages 12 to adult.

For more information, contact the Hillcrest Zoo at 575-769-7873.